East River (New York)
East River | ||
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Waterways in New York City. 1: Hudson River , 2: East River, 3: Long Island Sound , 4: Newark Bay, 5: Upper New York Bay , 6: Lower New York Bay , 7: Jamaica Bay , 8: Atlantic | ||
Connects waters | Upper New York Bay ( where the Hudson River meets the Atlantic ) | |
with water | Long Island Sound | |
Separates land mass | long Island | |
of land mass | Manhattan Island , Bronx ( Americas ) | |
Data | ||
Geographical location | 40 ° 47 '48 " N , 73 ° 52' 2" W | |
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Coastal towns | New York City | |
Islands | Rikers Island , Roosevelt Island , Mill Rock, South and North Brother Island | |
bridges | Brooklyn Bridge , Manhattan Bridge , Hell Gate Bridge | |
View of the East River with Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge |
The East River ( English for East River ) in New York City is an elongated strait that connects the Long Island Sound with the mouth of the Hudson River . Despite the name, the East River is not a river; as an estuary with a connection to the Atlantic, it also has considerable salinity .
The East River as a waterway in New York City
The East River runs northeast to south between Throgs Neck in the Bronx and the southern tip of Manhattan , separating New York's Bronx and Manhattan in the west from Queens and Brooklyn on Long Island in the east. Between the Hudson and the East River there is also a connection above the confluence, the Harlem River .
The following islands are part of the New York City area in the East River:
- Rikers Island
- North Brother Island
- South Brother Island
- Mill Rock
- The connected Wards Island and Randall's Island
- Roosevelt Island
- U Thant Island (Belmont Island)
East River Crossings
The East River is crossed by ten bridges, thirteen tunnels, a cable car , the Roosevelt Island Tramway (only between Manhattan and Roosevelt Island ) and a ferry line.
The bridges are, from north to south:
- Throgs Neck Bridge , between the Bronx and Queens, vehicle traffic
- Bronx-Whitestone Bridge , between the Bronx and Queens, vehicle traffic
- Rikers Island Bridge , between Queens and Rikers Island , vehicle traffic
- Hell Gate Bridge , between Queens and the Bronx, railroad
- Robert F. Kennedy Bridge between Manhattan, the Bronx and Queens, via Ward's and Randall's Island, motor vehicle traffic
- Roosevelt Island Bridge from Queens to Roosevelt Island
- Queensboro Bridge , between Manhattan and Queens, via Roosevelt Island, vehicle traffic
- Williamsburg Bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn, vehicle traffic and New York City subway lines J, M, and Z
- Manhattan Bridge , between Manhattan and Brooklyn, vehicle traffic and subway lines B, D, N and Q
- Brooklyn Bridge , between Manhattan and Brooklyn, road traffic
The tunnels are, from north to south:
- 63rd Street Tunnel between Manhattan and Queens, F subway on the upper floor, the lower floor is part of the East Side Access project, which is to connect Grand Central Terminal with the Long Island Railroad
- 60th Street Tunnel , between Manhattan and Queens, N, Q, and R subway
- 53rd Street Tunnel , between Manhattan and Queens, E and M subway
- Steinway tunnel , between Manhattan and Queens, Subway line 7
- Queens-Midtown Tunnel , between Queens and Manhattan, motor vehicle traffic, Interstate I-495
- East River Tunnel , between Manhattan and Queens, rail tunnel used by Long Island Railroad, Amtrak and New Jersey Transit from Penn Station
- 14th Street Tunnel, between Brooklyn and Manhattan, L subway
- Rutgers Street Tunnel , between Brooklyn and Manhattan, F subway
- Cranberry Street Tunnel , between Brooklyn and Manhattan, Subway lines A and C
- Clark Street Tunnel , between Brooklyn and Manhattan, Subway lines 2 and 3
- Montague Street Tunnel , between Brooklyn and Manhattan, subway on the N and R lines
- Joralemon Street Tunnel, between Brooklyn and Manhattan, Subway lines 4 and 5
- Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel , between Brooklyn and Manhattan, motor vehicle traffic, Interstate I-478
Since June 2011, the East River has been served by the East River Ferry between Wall Street in the south and 34th Street in the north , which serves seven jetties in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens as well as Governors Island at the weekend . In addition, the New York Water Taxi has connections to sporting events.
Currents in the East River
The narrowness of the watercourse, the current of the Hudson and especially the tides create currents of five knots and more in the East River . Numerous ships fell victim to these current conditions and underwater rocks, which have only recently been precisely mapped or removed, in the age of sailing . The most dangerous point of the East River at the mouth of the Harlem River owes the name Hell Gate to this fact .
The biggest shipping disaster in the port of New York on the East River was the fire and sinking of General Slocum . To what extent the special conditions in the East River contributed to this disaster, however, is controversial.
Recently attempts have been made to use the current in the East River to generate energy. As part of the RITE project, 30 five-meter-high turbines with a total output of 1 megawatt are to be anchored on the bottom of the East River between Roosevelt Island and Queens by 2012, which will use the tidal currents. Turbine prototypes have already been successfully tested on site.
The East River then and now
On both the west bank (Manhattan and Bronx) and the east bank (Brooklyn and Queens) of the East River pier after pier lined up as the city grew. As a result of the structural change after the Second World War , some of these piers fell into disrepair and are now used for other functions.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ The RITE Project East River - New York, NY. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 10, 2014 ; accessed on August 23, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.